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Blood Brothers
Conceived and created in crumbling Old World castles and chantries by the newly vanished Tremere antitribu and a few twisted Tzimisce sorcerers, the Blood Brothers are an artificially engineered bloodline of shock troops and servitors. The Blood Brothers are the dubiously successful result of extensive experiments in blood bonding, intended to create a cell of servants that thought and acted as one. To some degree, the Blood Brothers are a hive mind, sharing the same conscious thoughts and experiencing their surroundings vicariously through other members of their individual "chapters," known as circles. This link allows them to work effective apart from each other -- the bloodline excels at coordinated combat missions and espionage, provided no one realizes what they are (which, due to their rarity and the difficulty of their creation, is unlikely). They practice an unusual, disturbing Discipline that allows them to "loan" their limbs to one another, heal their compatriots and even capitalize on their shared minds. Blood Brothers commonly form exclusive packs, in which they undergo Tzimisce fleshcrafting to make themselves look exactly alike -- the better to unsettle their foes. The bloodline is notorious for its lack of personal drive, which makes it members ideal servants; no master needs to fear the Blood Brothers' fangs at his throat. Unfortunately, the bloodline has very little creativity, and it usually lacks the ability to outmaneuver opponents or outthink them, which is a flaw common to any enforced conformity. This is not to say the Blood Brothers are dull-witted or slow; rather, they do not possess much self-awareness. Few outside the Sabbat have come in contact with the Blood Brothers, and fewer still have escaped to tell about it. Indeed, not many Sabbat have dealt with the Frankensteins, or even know about them. Blood Brothers have become increasingly uncommon in the modern nights, mostly due to the fact that the Tremere antitribu no longer exist to create new ones while the existing Blood Brothers have typical Sabbat rates of Final Death. Blood Brothers cannot Embrace (a fail-safe put in place by cleaver experimenters who had no desire to repeat the Gargoyle fiasco), yet they are vampires in every other respect, including the ability to create ghouls. Nickname: Frankensteins Appearance: Barring a few scars here and there, Blood Brothers look exactly like other members of their circle. Most shave their bodies completely before the Embrace, ensuring an eternity of hairlessness, though this is not always the case. Additionally, many Blood Brothers tattoo numbers or other symbols on their bodies before their Embrace (often on the base of the neck, but sometimes on their stomachs or ankles), which identify which circle they belong to and in what capacity. Blood Brothers most often dress in styles similar to that of the skinhead culture, wearing T-shirts, jeans, military-surplus boots and braces or suspenders. They cultivate their image for an air of obviously, but not ostentatious, menace. Haven: '''Blood Brothers most frequently stay in whatever haven their master or patron keeps for them, which may even be part of their master's own. Blood Brothers always stay with each other in communal havens. Some critics speculate that the undead mind of the Blood Brothers is incapable of coping with situations of prolonged absence from other members of his circle, but the few notable individual vampires of the bloodline have proven able to adapt to this eventually. '''Background: The Blood Brother's background ceases to have relevance after his Embrace. Vampires of this bloodline become devoted entirely to their circle and sect, and all other concerns vanish. Tzimisce (and Tremere antitribu, in the past) usually select mortal families, gangs or other extant groups from which to create Blood Brothers, capitalizing on the conformity and camaraderie therein. Female members are exceedingly rare, but at least one has been reputably reported. Character Creation: '''Blood Brothers have uncomplicated, martial concepts, but these often matter little to the vampire in question. Most are simple vampires, with similar Natures and Demeanors. Physical Attributes are almost always primary, as are Skills. All Blood Brothers in a circle must begin game with the same Generation; the bloodline pursue few other Backgrounds other than Mentor and Resources. Few Blood Brothers have the initiative or contacts too learn Disciplines outside those the bloodline develops normally. Blood Brothers tend to uphold Humanity, often because they don't know any differently, though these scores often drop quite low before too long. '''Clan Disciplines: Fortitude, Potence, Sanguinus. Weaknesses: Blood Brothers may not Embrace -- the must be created via Thaumaturgy or sorcerous rituals. Should a Blood Brother attempt to Embrace a mortal, that mortal simply dies, robbed of all her blood. The Frankensteins also feel each other's pain. If one takes damage, every Blood Brother of the circle suffers the same wound penalty for the next turn. Only the greatest wound penalty applies -- if two are wounded, all members of the circle (including the less wounded one) suffer the largest penalty. This effect is not cumulative, though all members may feel wound penalties for multiple rounds (assuming one of their number suffers damage every turn). Organization: For most Blood Brothers, unlife begins and ends with the circle, which consist of three to seven members. They may attend other Sabbat functions, but their master or patron dictates most of their purpose. Blood Brothers feel no inherent allegiance to other circles, above and beyond that of the duty to the Sabbat. The bloodline treats others with cold difference, and its members seem somewhat reluctant to let outsiders know much about it. Perhaps their ends are best served in secrecy. Quote: "You are not supposed to be here. We will show you the way out; one piece at a time, if needs be."